MG Motor rolls out upcoming SUV Astor

New Delhi: MG Motor India on Wednesday unveiled its upcoming mid-sized SUV, Astor equipped with personal artificial intelligence (AI) assistant and level 2 autonomous driving technology.

The company is betting on new auto-tech features and its concept of car-as-a-platform (CAAP) of 'possibilities and services' to differentiate the Astor, which will take on the likes of Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Skoda Kushaq and the VW Taigun, when launched around Diwali.

"The whole thought process of ours was that when you are coming into this competitive segment, we need to do something very differentiated and very differently if we want to be in consumer mindset," MG Motor India President and Managing Director Rajeev Chaba said. He further said, "Technology and innovation is our foremost pillar and that's how we started our journey in India with Hector, the first connected car."

The Astor SUV has a personal AI assistant robot on its dashboard and depicts human-like emotions and voices and can give detailed information on every topic through Wikipedia. It has been designed by American firm 'Star Design', the company said. Moreover, the AI assistant will engage with people in the car and is powered by i-Smart Hub, a platform on which the partnerships, services, and subscriptions of CAAP will reside that allows customers to personalise their set of services.